Before the store, the shelves, the regulars and the famously social shop cat, Gwen, Dave describes himself as “somebody searching for the right opportunity that could afford us the ability to live in this town, and to be self-employed in an industry that I felt mentally excited about.”

He laughs when he remembers the path that got him there. “I had a bunch of small businesses before Paws ’n Claws in this town. None of them could make ends meet,” he says. “And then I tried my luck at the corporate world and found out quickly that a suit and tie were not for me.”

Steamboat had gotten under his skin years earlier. He first arrived in 1989 after graduating from college in Virginia. “I spent one year here really thinking I would come back,” he recalls. But he felt obligated to use his business and finance degree, and so he returned east to work for, as he puts it, “a humongous bank.” Four years in banking only cemented what he already suspected – that he belonged in the mountains.

Paws ’n Claws arrived at just the right moment. At the time, Dave and Jodie were working in the pharmaceutical world, building careers that were stable but not fulfilling. Still, Dave never stopped scanning for the right opportunity. “I was always, always looking,” he says.

He’d once considered veterinary school, but with young kids and financial realities, it wasn’t possible. Even so, the pull toward animal health never went away.

“I had an interest in health and nutrition,” he explains, “and I could apply that to the animal world. Since I was always looking, it became an easy switch from human health to dog health.”

When the chance to buy Paws ’n Claws appeared, Dave and Jodie made the leap, together. They didn’t just purchase a business; they created a partnership built on shared passion and family values. The store became part of their identity as a couple, something they nurtured side by side.

And what it became surprised even them.

“We’re grateful the community supported us,” Dave says. “It became more than just buying animal food – it became a social environment where people could meet and connect outside of normal establishments.”

Life revolved around skiing, winter sports, and the easy way the community folds people into shared routines. “You get to engage with your customers outside of the business deal,” he says. “It was an easy way to get to know the customers.”

Paws ’n Claws was a place where people wandered in with dogs on leashes and left having talked about ski races, hockey victories, kids’ milestones and the challenges of everyday life. “It formed a life of its own,” he says.

Some of the animals who walked, or scooted, through the door stayed with him. “Candoo the dog was missing two legs,” he recalls. And then there was Gwen, the store cat who practically had her own tourist following. “We had tourists come in year after year asking where that kitty was who used to roam the sidewalk,” Dave says. “She probably made the biggest impact on getting people interested in animals who wouldn’t normally come into the store.”

But even the most beloved chapters eventually turn the final page.

Dave says the shift came when he and Jodie realized their kids’ careers would take them far from Steamboat, and at the same time, their aging family members needed more support. The two of them were stretched thin between running the store and being present for the people who mattered most.

“It was a decision we had to make between spending time with family and spending time with the business,” he says. He and Jodie chose family.

When they stepped away, their hope was simple: that the store would continue to anchor the community the way it always had. “We hope for continued involvement in the community, which we absolutely love,” he says. “There was mutual support toward us as much as we tried to support the community.”

Life after Paws ’n Claws has brought a kind of quiet fulfillment. “I’ve been able to go back East and see family and spend more time with them than I’ve had in years,” Dave says. 

And what does he want people to remember about him and Jodie, and the years they spent behind the counter? His answer is immediate.

“Just the fun times we had,” he says. “That we all got to connect – people we raised kids with, kids we saw growing up in the community. That was what made the business most fun for me. Just being able to connect with everybody, we honestly really enjoyed it.”

When Dave and Jodie stepped away, they hoped the store would continue to be a heartbeat in the community, a place where pets and people belonged. As it turns out, the next chapter wasn’t written by strangers, but by two familiar faces who had already been part of the story for years.

When Eli Campbell and his wife, Erin, first stepped into Paws ’n Claws, they were the kind of customer who knew Dave and Jodie by name and trusted them with their pets’ well-being. But what began as a familiar shopping routine slowly unfolded into something more meaningful, something that felt like destiny.

 Eli and Erin Campbell, with their two boys and two dogs. Photo courtesy of Erin Campbell.

Eli has called Steamboat home for more than 25 years. His connection to the valley started in the 90s, working summers on the river, running tubing operations before graduating from CU and launching a career with KFMU radio. Erin arrived a few years later, planning just to spend one winter here. “I came for winter and never left,” she says. A writer deeply involved in the local community, she spent years telling Steamboat’s stories.

Their children, too, have grown up surrounded by the rhythm of this store. In fact, their voices were once part of that rhythm — literally. When the kids were just 5 and 2, they lent their tiny voices to Dave’s radio ads, cheering for healthy pets over the airwaves.

“So through that, we kind of found out that Dave was interested in selling,” Erin recalls. “We are huge animal lovers ourselves. And we started thinking about it and started talking to him, and we were like, we can really do this.”

What followed wasn’t a business negotiation as much as a passing of the torch – familiar hands to familiar hearts. “The transition has been so organic,” she says. “It was really cool.”

That continuity matters. Carrying forward the legacy isn’t just a goal for the new owners, it’s a promise.

“One of the biggest reasons why we wanted to get involved was that community connection,” Erin says. “It’s such an important piece of that store. We hope to continue their legacy and to build on it.”

Their plans include deeper connections with local organizations like the Routt County Humane Society and more opportunities for people to gather, mingle and celebrate the animals who hold their hearts. As they look ahead, their message to the community is simple and heartfelt: “We understand and honor the legacy of Paws ’n Claws, the importance the store holds for a lot of people. We’ve been in town a long time. We know what Paws ’n Claws means to them because it means the same to us.”

From one beloved couple to the next, the heart of Paws ’n Claws keeps beating – shaped by people who came for the mountains and stayed for the community…and the animals who make it family.